


The Dreams of A Child

by dairesfanficrefuge_archivist



Category: Highlander - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-01-27
Updated: 2000-01-27
Packaged: 2018-12-18 05:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11867877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist/pseuds/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atDaire's Fanfic Refuge. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onDaire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile.





	The Dreams of A Child

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Daire's Fanfic Refuge](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Daire%27s_Fanfic_Refuge). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Daire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/dairesfanficrefuge/profile).

The Dreams of A Child by Viking Lass

_The Dreams of A Child_

By Jen Erickson aka Viking Lass 

Disclaimer: Methos and Cassandra do not belong to me. I am borrowing them with love and respect. 

Author's note: Thanks to Katie Heasley for beta reading it! 

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_"When mothers warned their children the monster would get them. I was that monster! I was the nightmare that kept them awake at night!"_ ~ Methos in _Comes A Horseman_. 

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Kulira looked up at her mother with expectant eyes that yearned for the necklace that lay on the leather. Her mother noticed her daughter's eyes and after a few moments haggling with the merchant about the piece of silk she wanted for herself, she traded some other items for the necklace Kulira wanted. The girl jumped for joy as the merchant handed her new necklace to her. 

Faradey, Kulira's father came over to his wife, Naleena, and asked the merchant, "What lands have you seen in your travels?" 

The bearded, sun browned merchant said, "Well, I have traveled to Egypt and to other lands. I have seen wonders and horrors. I had heard tales of the Horsemen and once, many moons ago, I saw what was left of a village they had attacked." 

Faradey's face darkened a bit, as did his wife's for they had heard stories of the Horsemen when they were young children. Kulira had never been told of these stories and in her anxiousness to know she blurted out, "Who are the Horsemen?" 

The merchant gave an uneasy glance to the parents and then answered truthfully, "They are demons on horses. They kill all they see." 

Kulira was little disturbed by the words the merchant spoke. She considered herself a brave girl. Other children of the tribe soon joined Kulira and they all begged the merchant to tell them more stories. The man began to tell wondrous tales that fascinated and frightened some of the children. He was a good storyteller and was about to begin a fourth story when Kulira remembered she had a new necklace and wanted to show it to Cassandra, the tribe's healer's daughter. 

She ran across the camp and found Cassandra putting herbs into small leather pouches. Cassandra wore her simple white dress and had her hair tied back. Kulira was breathless but smiling and the older woman smiled at the little girl and asked, "What is it, Kulira, that makes you run so fast?" 

"I want to show you the necklace mama got for me from the merchant," she held it out for Cassandra to see. 

"It's very pretty," Cassandra replied. Kulira looked at Cassandra and saw she wore a simple necklace of white beads. She wondered why she hadn't gotten a new necklace or a new piece of silk. 

"Why didn't you get a new necklace? He had many," the little girl asked. 

"I needed more herbs to help heal our people." The woman's green eyes shone. 

"But you couldn't have gotten just one new necklace for yourself?" Kulira asked not fully understanding the small sacrifice Cassandra had made for the tribe. 

Cassandra knew that Kulira cared for her very much. There were some days she would beg her mother to allow her to spend the whole day with Cassandra. Kulira knew Cassandra was special. The whole tribe did. Hijad had found her as a baby and raised her as his daughter. She was a gift from the gods and she had the healing magic that her father did. 

Kulira's blue eyes were questioning and Cassandra needed to ease them and said, "The next time we meet with a merchant, I will get a new necklace and you will chose it for me." 

This pleased Kulira immensely, and she again jumped up and down and then hugged Cassandra. 

"Kulira, run and see what chores your mother needs you to do," she said gently and nudged the young girl toward her tent. 

"Yes, yes," and she ran off. 

Soon there was the smell of cooking fires and food being roasted. It had been a successful hunt by the men of the tribe. The women served their husbands and their children. As the sun set beyond the horizon many members of the tribe ate dinner. Kulira helped her mother clean the bowls, after she and her parents had finished eating. She fingered the new necklace that she was wearing and she thought about what the merchant had said about the Horsemen. As the heart stopping darkness of the ancient world settled over the camp, Kulira and her parents prepared for bed. 

Kulira pulled the blanket up to her chin with one hand while she rubbed her new necklace with her other hand. She fell asleep quickly but frightening images shattered her sleep. She dreamed of mounted raiders with bloody swords and in her dream she heard the screams of their victims. She thrashed violently and whimpered until she woke her mother, who roused her daughter. 

Kulira woke up and was shaking and crying. Her mother kissed her daughter's forehead and soothed the distraught girl. 

Between sobs Kulira, "Mama,-the Horsemen-are coming." 

"Hush, Kulira, you dream this because of what the merchant said. Go back to sleep," and Naleena pulled Kulira closer. 

Eventually Kulira calmed down enough to sleep and did not dream again of the Horsemen that night. 

The next morning, Kulira woke late and blinked and saw that much of the tribe was already past breakfast. Then she saw her mother, who smiled at her and said, "You are awake, sleepy head. Come and eat." 

Kulira kicked the blanket off her and went over to her mother who gave her some food and water. The rest of the day passed as a normal day for a nomadic tribe. Kulira helped her mother and aunt weave some cloth. The women prepared food for their evening meal. Later in the afternoon Kulira and some other children were allowed to play at the river and floated sticks and threw rocks for fun. 

That evening Kulira again dreamed of the Horsemen coming. The violent images of blood and swords scared Kulira so much that she woke up screaming. And again her mother woke and tried to soothe her daughter. 

"Mama, it's the same dream as last night. The Horsemen are coming." 

"Hush, Kulira, you do not have the dreams that Cassandra and Hijad have. You do not know what is coming. Go to sleep." 

Kulira, who had been crying about the dream, cried even harder because of what her mother said. Maybe tomorrow she would tell Cassandra of her dream. She would understand. Kulira wiped her tear streaked face with the back of her hand and lay back down on the blankets. 

"Mama, they are coming." 

"Hush, child." 

Kulira rolled onto her side and cried herself to sleep. Morning came too fast for the tired child who had to help fetch water with the other young girls. Kulira kept rubbing her eyes and yawning and eventually a young girl named, Kijana, asked what was the matter. 

"I didn't sleep well. I had bad dreams." 

Since Kulira was one of the youngest of her tribe she could not carry as much water as some of the older girls. When she tried, she wound up spilling most of it on herself and the ground. She was very frustrated and wanted to be a big girl now. 

That evening Kulira was so tired she asked to eat early and then went into the tent to sleep. She did not want to dream of the Horsemen but she did. She saw the four monsters ride over the sand of the desert. She saw nomads, like those of her tribe, run and scream and be cut down with swords that dripped blood. She saw the bodies lay in the sand, blood pooling in the sand, and she saw the Horsemen burn the village. 

Kulira thrashed so violently that she kicked her mother in the stomach, who was not pleased to wake up in such a fashion. Her mother had to shake Kulira awake, who was crying uncontrollably. It was enough of a racket that Faradey, her father, was awakened. "Mama, Papa, I tell you, the Horsemen are coming." 

"No, they are not," her father, said. 

"Please, tomorrow, let me tell Cassandra my dreams, please," Kulira begged her tired parents. 

"No, Kulira, go back to sleep. You do not see the future. Sleep," her mother said. 

Kulira just sat and cried. Now it wasn't that Naleena and Faradey didn't love Kulira. It was just that they were frightened that Kulira might have magic like Cassandra. Too much magic in one tribe was not good. 

Naleena and Faradey lay back down but Kulira still sat crying. Naleena was losing patience with her and said, "Kulira, if you are not still, the monster _will_ come and get you." 

Kulira bit her lip hard, and cried even harder but lay down all the same. She resolved that tomorrow she would find time to talk to Cassandra and tell her of the dreams. 

The sun was barely above the horizon when Kulira woke. Her parents were already awake and eating. Kulira was withdrawn, quiet and tired. She would look for an opportunity to talk to Cassandra. But when Kulira went to talk to Cassandra, she found that Cassandra had gone to collect herbs. Kulira did some chores for her mother to pass the time. Eventually Kulira saw Cassandra return to the camp but Hijad, her father, spoke to her for a long time. Kulira's father was out on a hunt and her friend, Easwan, had gone to collect wood for the tribe's fires. 

As Kulira sat and looked around her home she saw that Cassandra was outside her tent. Kulira started to run over to talk to her but then she saw her own father make his way to Cassandra. He was hurt. Kulira slowed down and walked hesitantly toward the group of adults. Kulira looked expectantly at Cassandra, who asked, "What is it, child?" 

Kulira opened her mouth and said quickly, "I wanted to talk to you." 

Then Faradey said, "Kulira, go play. Cassandra does not have time now." 

Kulira's face showed a little pain at the words her father had spoken. Cassandra, the healer, said, "I will find you after I tend to your father's wound. Then you can talk to me." 

It wasn't the answer Kulira was looking for and she dragged her toes in the ground and then turned and stomped away angrily. She was mad at the adults and she walked a little farther from the camp than she should have. She kicked at the sand fiercely and then sat and cried. Why couldn't she talk to Cassandra _now_ instead of later? Kulira sat and pulled her knees up to her chest and cried. 

When her tears were spent, she picked her head up to look about her and saw them. The Horsemen. They rode over the sand right into the center of her village. Three of them were cloaked in black and the fourth was in white. With their weapons in hand, they easily killed her people. Then she heard the screams of her people, the same screams she had heard in her dreams. 

For the rest of her life she would remember the numbing fear that held her as the shadow of one of the Horsemen passed over her as she sat on the sand. The one in white wore a mask of Death and held a sword that dripped blood onto his hand. Years later, when she had a new adopted tribe to call family, she never forgot the words he had spoken, the words of a demon, "Congratulations, you get to live today to tell others what we are." 

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© 2000   
Please send comments to the author! 

01/27/2000 

Background by 1001 Backgrounds. 

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